Najaf (Imam Ali's City)

Najaf (Arabic: النجف) is a sacred city in southern Iraq and home to the grave and shrine of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). Najaf is also the world's most important Shia scholarly center (hawzah ilmiyyah), where thousands of religious students study Islamic jurisprudence, including the detailed rules of prayer.

The shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf is one of the most majestic buildings in the Islamic world with its radiant golden dome and minarets. Prayer at Imam Ali's grave is considered enormously meritorious. Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Visit Imam Ali (peace be upon him), for visiting him is equivalent to two accepted Hajj pilgrimages" (Kamil al-Ziyarat).

The Hawza in Najaf has been the primary center for Shia Islamic scholarship for over a thousand years. Here, the greatest Shia scholars have studied and taught, including Shaykh al-Tusi, Shaykh al-Mufid, and Allamah al-Hilli. All the prayer rules and fiqh rulings that Shia Muslims follow can be traced back to scholarship produced in Najaf (and the sister center in Qom, Iran).

Wadi al-Salam (Valley of Peace) in Najaf is the world's largest cemetery, where millions of Shia Muslims are buried near Imam Ali. Many believers wish to be buried here due to the proximity to Imam Ali that the site offers. For Shia Muslims worldwide, Najaf is a symbol of scholarship, spirituality, and the unbroken chain of knowledge that connects today's believers with the Prophet and his household through the narrations of Ahl al-Bayt.